JP2009290818A - Camera, camera control program, and photographing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate disadvantages of both a full automatic camera and a manual camera. <P>SOLUTION: Once a photographic scene is decided, automatic parameters corresponding to the decided photographic scene are set, and respective portions are controlled according to the set automatic parameters (step S3). Further, a tag for manual setting corresponding to the photographic scene decided in the step S2 is superimposed and displayed on a through image (step S5). It is determined which of touches on tags is detected or not (step S9). Once a touch is detected, a manual parameter corresponding to the touched tag among the automatic parameters stored in a RAM in the step S3 is changed by one stage to be updated (step S13). When a shutter key is operated, primary photographic processing is carried out using the parameter updated and stored in the RAM in the step S13, and image data are recorded in a storing memory (step S23). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera that performs shooting under manually set shooting conditions, a camera control program, and a shooting method.

Conventionally, so-called full-auto cameras have been proposed in which shooting conditions are set automatically for shooting. This full-auto camera determines a shooting scene based on a subject image obtained from an image sensor, and automatically sets shooting conditions (shooting mode) of the camera according to the determined shooting scene. Therefore, the user can perform shooting and recording under appropriate shooting conditions according to the shooting scene without being bothered by the shooting condition setting operation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2008-11289 A

However, in the case of a full-auto camera, the user can perform shooting under an appropriate shooting condition according to the shooting scene without being bothered by the shooting condition setting operation as described above. The intention is not reflected at all. Therefore, there is a demerit that the recorded image does not reflect the user's intention at all.
On the other hand, there is a manual camera as a camera opposite to the full-auto camera. In the manual camera, since all shooting conditions are set manually, the user's intention is reflected in the shooting conditions. Therefore, the recorded image can also have a characteristic that clearly reflects the user's intention. However, in the case of a manual camera, the user himself / herself must determine the shooting scene and manually set all shooting conditions. Therefore, while the user's intention can be reflected in the recorded image, the user can There is a disadvantage that is bothered by the setting operation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera, a camera control program, and a photographing method in which the disadvantages of a full-auto camera and a manual camera are eliminated.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the camera according to the first aspect of the present invention, a shooting scene determination unit that determines a shooting scene based on a subject image, and shooting according to the shooting scene determined by the shooting scene determination unit. Display control means for displaying a setting menu for manually setting conditions on the display means, setting means for setting photographing conditions according to manual operation for the setting menu displayed on the display means, and setting by this setting means Photographing means for photographing the subject image according to the photographing conditions.

  In the camera according to the second aspect of the present invention, the setting unit includes an auto setting unit that sets a shooting condition according to the shooting scene determined by the determination unit, and a shooting according to the manual operation. Manual setting means for setting conditions.

  Further, in the camera according to the invention of claim 3, the manual setting means changes the shooting condition corresponding to the setting menu in the shooting condition set by the auto setting means in accordance with the manual operation. It is characterized by setting.

  In the camera according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the manual setting means changes and sets the photographing condition stepwise in accordance with the manual operation.

  In the camera according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the display control unit causes the display unit to display a subject image photographed by the photographing unit under the setting condition set by the auto setting unit. It is characterized by.

  In the camera according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the display control means includes a first subject image photographed by the photographing means in accordance with photographing conditions set by the manual setting means, and the manual setting means. The display means displays the second subject image photographed by the photographing means in accordance with the photographing conditions set before the photographing conditions are set.

  In the camera according to the seventh aspect of the invention, the determination unit further includes a subject determination unit that determines a main subject in the shooting scene, and the display control unit is determined by the subject determination unit. The setting menu is displayed in a display form linked to the main subject.

  The camera according to the eighth aspect of the present invention further includes storage means for storing the characteristics of a person, and the subject determination means is a person whose subject in the shooting scene is stored in the storage means. In some cases, the person is identified as the main subject.

  In the camera according to the ninth aspect of the invention, the setting menu displayed on the display means includes a description of the characteristics of the image when the image is captured under a corresponding imaging condition. To do.

  In the camera control program according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the computer having the camera having the photographing means is determined by the photographing scene determining means for determining the photographing scene based on the subject image, and the photographing scene determining means. Display control means for displaying on the display means a setting menu for manually setting the shooting conditions according to the shooting scene, and a setting for setting the shooting conditions according to the manual operation for the setting menu displayed on the display means And a photographing control means for controlling the photographing means in accordance with the photographing condition set by the setting means and photographing the subject image.

  In the photographing method according to the eleventh aspect, the photographing scene determining step for determining the photographing scene based on the subject image, and the photographing conditions according to the photographing scene determined by the photographing scene determining step are manually set. A display control step for displaying a setting menu for setting on the display means, a setting step for setting photographing conditions according to a manual operation for the setting menu displayed on the display means, and a photographing set by the setting step A photographing step of photographing the subject image according to a condition.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the demerit of both a full auto camera and a manual camera can be eliminated, and a user's intention can be reflected in imaging conditions, eliminating the trouble which a user is troubled by setting operation of imaging conditions. There is an advantage.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an electronic circuit configuration of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the photographing mode which is the basic mode, the digital camera 1 performs a focusing operation by moving the zoom lens 12-1 and moving the zoom lens 11-1 and the focus lens 12-2. A lens optical system 12 constituting an imaging lens including an AF driving unit 11-2, a zoom lens 12-1, and a focus lens 12-2, a diaphragm 32 disposed on the optical axis of the lens optical system 12, and the diaphragm 32 , A CCD 13 as an image sensor, a timing generator (TG) 14, a vertical driver 15, a sample hold circuit (S / H) 16, an A / D converter 17, a color process circuit 18, a DMA ( A direct memory access controller 19, a DRAM interface (I / F) 20, and a DRAM 21 are provided. In addition, a control unit 22, a VRAM controller 23, a VRAM 24, a digital video encoder 25, a display unit 26, a JPEG (Joint Photographing Experts Group) circuit 27, a storage memory 28, a database 29, and a key input unit 30 are provided. ing.

  In the monitoring state in the photographing mode, the zoom driving unit 11-1 drives a zoom lens driving motor (not shown) based on a control signal from the control unit 22 when there is an optical zoom instruction, thereby moving the zoom lens 12-1. The magnification itself of the image formed on the CCD 13 is changed by moving back and forth along the optical axis. The AF drive unit 11-2 drives a focus lens drive motor (not shown) to move the focus lens 12-2. Then, a CCD 13 which is an image pickup element disposed behind the photographing optical axis of the lens optical system 12 constituting the image pickup lens 2 is scanned and driven by a timing generator (TG) 14 and a vertical driver 15, and is connected at regular intervals. A photoelectric conversion output corresponding to the imaged optical image is output for one frame.

  The CCD 13 is a solid-state imaging device that captures a two-dimensional image of a subject, and typically captures an image of several tens of frames per second. The imaging element is not limited to a CCD, and may be a solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor).

  The photoelectric conversion output is appropriately gain-adjusted for each RGB primary color component in the state of an analog value signal, sampled and held by a sample hold circuit (S / H) 16, and digital data ( The color process circuit 18 includes a pixel interpolation process and a γ correction process, and a digital luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb and Cr are generated. The DMA (Direct Memory Access) It is output to the controller 19.

  The DMA controller 19 uses the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb and Cr output from the color process circuit 18 by using the composite synchronization signal, the memory write enable signal, and the clock signal from the color process circuit 18 as well as a DRAM interface. DMA transfer is performed via the (I / F) 20 to the DRAM 21 used as a buffer memory.

  The control unit 22 is responsible for the overall control operation of the digital camera 1, and is a program such as a flash memory that stores a CPU or MPU (hereinafter referred to as a CPU) and a program for executing processing shown in the flowcharts described later. It is composed of a storage memory, a RAM used as a work memory, and the like. After the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals to the DRAM 21 is completed, the luminance and color difference signals are read from the DRAM 21 via the DRAM interface 20 and written to the VRAM 24 via the VRAM controller 23.

  In addition, the control unit 22 extracts processing programs and menu data corresponding to each mode stored in a program storage memory such as a flash memory in response to the status signal from the key input unit 30, and Execution control of each function, specifically shooting operation, zoom lens operation control during optical zoom, execution control such as through image display, automatic focusing, shooting, recording, and playback / display of recorded image, etc. Control display of function selection menu at the time of function selection and display control of setting screen.

  The digital video encoder 25 periodically reads out the luminance and color difference signals from the VRAM 24 via the VRAM controller 23, generates a video signal based on these data, and outputs the video signal to the display unit 26. The display unit 26 functions as a monitor display unit (electronic finder) in the shooting mode, and performs display based on the video signal from the digital video encoder 25, so that image information captured from the VRAM controller 23 at that time is displayed. A live view based on the image is displayed in real time.

  Further, the control unit 22 executes the main photographing process in response to the photographing instruction. In this main photographing process, the control unit 22 uses the shutter key operation as a trigger to take a still image from the through image photographing mode to the CCD 13, vertical driver 15, sample hold circuit 16, color process circuit 18, and DMA controller 19. The switch to the mode is instructed, and the image data obtained by the photographing process in the still image photographing mode is temporarily stored in the SDRAM 21.

  In this stored recording state, the control unit 22 transmits the luminance and color difference signals for one frame written in the DRAM 21 to each of Y, Cb, and Cr components of 8 pixels by 8 pixels by the DRAM interface 20. The data is read in units called basic blocks and written into the JPEG circuit 27. The JPEG circuit 27 compresses data by processing such as ADCT (Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform) and Huffman coding which is an entropy coding method. . The obtained code data is read out from the JPEG circuit 27 as a data file of one image, and is recorded and stored in the storage memory 28. Further, as the compression processing of the luminance and color difference signals for one frame and the completion of the writing of all the compressed data to the storage memory 28, the control unit 22 instructs to switch from the still image shooting mode to the through image shooting mode.

  In the playback mode, which is the basic mode, the control unit 22 selectively reads out the image data recorded in the storage memory 28, and is compressed by a procedure that is completely opposite to the procedure in which data is compressed in the shooting mode by the JPEG circuit 27. The decompressed image data is decompressed, the decompressed image data is expanded and stored in the VRAM 24 via the VRAM controller 23, and then periodically read out from the VRAM 24 to generate a video signal based on the image data. The display unit 26 reproduces and outputs.

  In addition, a transparent touch panel 31 is stacked on the display unit 26, and the touch panel 31 detects a touch position and inputs it to the control unit 22.

  “Focus control” in auto setting parameters described later is control for driving the focus lens 12-2 by the AF driving unit 11-2, and “aperture” is control for driving the diaphragm 32 by the diaphragm driving unit 33. . The “EV shift amount” is a change value of the value representing the amount of light to be exposed according to the combination of the aperture 32 and the shutter speed. “Sensitivity” is a process for increasing the sensitivity by increasing the gain with respect to the CCD 13. The speed is the charge accumulation time of the CCD 13.

  The JPEG circuit 27 supports a plurality of compression ratios, and a mode for storing data corresponding to the compression ratio includes a mode corresponding to a high resolution (generally called high definition, fine, normal, etc.) with a low compression ratio. There is a low-resolution (commonly called economy) mode with a high compression rate. It also supports high to low pixel counts. For example, there are recording pixel sizes called SXGA (1600 × 1200), XGA (1024 × 786), SVGA (800 × 600), VGA (640 × 480), QVGA (320 × 240) and the like.

  The storage memory 28 includes a recording medium such as a built-in memory (flash memory), a hard disk, or a removable memory card, and stores and records image data, photographing information, and the like.

  The database 29 stores a face recognition table that stores a plurality of face recognition records including face recognition data of individual A, B, C, etc., image quality parameters, and the like, and collation image data. The database 29 can be updated such as new registration, adjustment, or deletion by a user key input operation.

  The key input unit 30 includes a mode dial, a cursor key, a SET key, a zoom button (W button, T button), a shutter key, a clear key, a power button, and the like. A key processing unit (not shown) that generates a signal and sends it to the control unit 22 is configured.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the shooting scene correspondence table 221 stored in the ROM in the control unit 22 in the present embodiment. This shooting scene correspondence table 221 stores “display tag”, “manual setting parameter (manual parameter)”, and “auto setting parameter (auto parameter)” corresponding to “shooting scene”. As the “auto setting parameter (auto parameter)”, a certain value of the parameter is stored, and as the “manual setting parameter (manual parameter)”, a correction value that changes the value of the parameter by one step, that is, ± α Value is stored.

  Note that the manual setting parameter and the auto setting parameter in FIG. 2 are parameters for the main shooting (still image shooting mode) to the last, and in the through image shooting mode, the parameters for the main shooting are processed in a pseudo manner. (Software processing). Therefore, although not shown, image processing software is stored in the shooting scene correspondence table 221 corresponding to various parameters. The corresponding image processing software is used to perform image processing on the through image, and to simulate the image processing software. A through image having the characteristics of actual shooting with parameters is generated. More specifically, for example, in the case of the parameter “shutter speed”, image processing for increasing the brightness of the through image by image processing is executed as the shutter speed decreases.

  The “photographing scene” is a photographing scene determined by processing to be described later, such as “person (male)”, “person (woman)”. “Display tag” is the name of the setting menu that allows manual setting of shooting conditions in the determined shooting scene. The “display tag” indicates the corresponding shooting conditions such as “cool”, “smooth”, and “pretty”. It includes a sensuous description of the characteristics of the image when it was taken.

  “Manual setting parameters” are shooting conditions set when these setting menus are selected or specified by the photographer. For example, when the setting menu “cool” is selected or specified, “focus control” is selected. Indicates that manual setting is to be performed, and “squeeze” is selected or designated to indicate that “aperture” is manually set. The “auto setting parameter” is a shooting condition automatically set in the determined shooting scene, and includes “focus control”, “shutter speed”, “aperture”, “EV shift amount”, “sensitivity”, ··· etc. are stored for each shooting scene.

  In the present embodiment having the above configuration, when the user sets a face registration mode and photographs a person to be registered, for example, a person in advance, the control unit 22 executes a registration process. Through this registration process, the facial features of the photographed subject person are detected, and face recognition data including the detected facial feature data and the photographed facial image is stored in the database 29. Therefore, data for recognizing a person's face photographed in advance in the face registration mode is registered in the database 29.

  Then, when the user operates the mode dial of the key input unit 30 to perform shooting, when the shooting mode is set and “selectable auto mode” is selected, the control unit 22 displays the flowchart of FIG. 3 according to the program. Perform processing as shown. First, display of the through image is started on the display unit 26 (step S1). Next, as the through image is displayed, a shooting scene is determined based on the image for one frame sequentially transferred to the DRAM 21 (step S2).

  For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-11289, this shooting scene determination is performed for the hue of hue data and saturation data for each “shooting scene” stored in the shooting scene correspondence table 221. -The distribution on the saturation coordinates is stored in the ROM, and the hue data and the saturation data distribution for the image in the DRAM 21 are compared with the distribution for each of the "photographing scenes". It is determined by which “shooting scene” the image in the DRAM 21 corresponds to.

  If the shooting scene is determined in this way, the auto parameter corresponding to the determined shooting scene is read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221 and stored in the RAM in the control unit 22 (step S3). Accordingly, the auto parameters corresponding to the shooting scene are stored in the RAM in the control unit 22.

  Next, based on the determination result in step S3, it is determined whether or not a person is present in the image (step S4). As a result of the determination in step S4, if there is no person, that is, a shooting scene in which no person exists, a display tag corresponding to the shooting scene determined in step S2 is read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221. Then, it is superimposed and displayed on the through image (step S5). Therefore, if the shooting scene is “flower” in step S2, first, the display tags “brightly”, “fantasy”, and “moist” corresponding to the shooting scene “flower” are read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221. . Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, these read display tags are superimposed and displayed on the through image. These tags are displayed, for example, arranged in the corner of the display unit 26 or the like.

  If the result of determination in step S4 is a shooting scene in which a person exists, it is determined whether or not the person is a registered person (step S6). That is, a face is detected from an image of one frame in the DRAM 21 and face feature data is extracted. When there are a plurality of faces, that is, when a plurality of faces are captured in one frame, the faces of a plurality of persons are detected, and feature data of each face is extracted. Then, the similarity is determined by comparing the extracted feature data with the feature data stored in the database 29, and it is determined whether or not the detected face is a face registered in the database 29.

  When there is a face registered in the database 29 (when a registered person exists), the display tag corresponding to the shooting scene determined in step S2 is read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221 and linked to the registered person. Then, the process of superimposing and displaying on the through image is started (step S7). Accordingly, if the shooting scene is “child” in step S2, first, the display tags “cute” and “honobono” corresponding to the shooting scene “child” are read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the read display tags 265 and 266 are superimposed and displayed on the through image 264. In the through image 264, if the person B is a registered person among the persons A, B, and C, the tags 265 and 266 are linked to the registered person B through the lead lines 267, respectively. Is displayed.

  Therefore, when the user visually recognizes these tags 265 and 266 together with the through image 264, it is possible to perform manual setting for photographing the linked registered person B more “cutely” even for a shooting beginner unfamiliar with the manual setting. In addition, it is possible to recognize that it is possible to manually set the shooting as “Honobono”.

  If no registered person exists as a result of the determination in step S6, the display tag corresponding to the shooting scene determined in step S2 is read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221 and linked to the person in the center of the screen. A process of superimposing and displaying on the image is started (step S8). Accordingly, if the shooting scene is “child” in step S2, first, the display tags “cute” and “honobono” corresponding to the shooting scene “child” are read from the shooting scene correspondence table 221. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the read display tags 265 and 266 are superimposed and displayed on the through image 264. Further, in this through image 264, among the persons A, B, and C, the registered person B is the central person, so that the tags 265 and 266 are linked to the registered person B via the lead lines 267, respectively. Is displayed.

  In this flowchart, if the determination in step S4 is NO and no person is present in the through image, the tag is displayed without being linked by the lead line 267. As shown in FIG. 4A, the tags 261, 262, and 263 may be displayed by linking to the main subject (“flower” in this example) in the shooting scene by linking with the lead line 267. As a result, when the photographer visually recognizes these tags 261, 262, 263, it can be recognized that a manual setting for “brilliantly” photographing the linked main subject is possible.

  On the other hand, the tag may be simply arranged and displayed on the side of the display unit 26 or the like without linking the tag to a specific subject regardless of the shooting scene. Alternatively, a tag linked to a specific subject and a tag that is not linked may be displayed, and the tag that is not linked may be arranged and displayed at the corner of the display unit 26.

  In step S9 following any one of steps S5, S7, and S8, it is determined based on the scanning result of the touch panel 31 whether or not a touch on any tag is detected (step S9). If no touch is detected, it is determined whether or not a T flag (touch flag) is set (step S19). Since this T flag is a flag that is set after the touch in step S11 described later, if the user has not yet touched any tag, the T flag = 0. Therefore, in this case, the determination in step S19 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S20, image processing for performing the pseudo auto parameter on the through image is executed on the through image using the image processing software by image software processing. Therefore, through the processing in step S20, a through image (moving image) having characteristics in the case of actual shooting with pseudo auto parameters is generated.

  Accordingly, a through image that has been subjected to image processing that realizes the auto parameter in a pseudo manner, that is, an image in a full auto shooting mode corresponding to a shooting scene (hereinafter referred to as a “full auto through image”) is displayed (hereinafter referred to as a “pseudo auto through image”). Step S21). Therefore, a full auto-through image is displayed on the display unit 26 by the processing in step S21.

  On the other hand, if a touch is detected in step S9, it is determined whether or not the T flag (touch flag) set (= 1) after the touch is in a reset state (= 0) in step S12 described later. If the T flag = 0 and the first touch after the shooting scene determination, the T flag is set (= 1) (step S11).

  Subsequently, the screen of the display unit 26 is divided into, for example, left and right (step S12). Then, the manual parameter corresponding to the touched tag in the determined shooting scene is specified in the shooting scene correspondence table 221, and the touch in the auto parameter stored in the RAM in the control unit 22 in the step S3. The manual parameter corresponding to the tag thus changed is stored in one step (step S13).

  Therefore, the RAM in the control unit 22 is a parameter obtained by changing the auto parameter stored in step S3 and the manual parameter corresponding to the touched tag of the auto parameter stored in step S13 by one step. The part manual parameters are stored together.

  At this time, if the manual parameter corresponding to the touched tag is already an auto parameter set in the process of step S3, the parameter value set in step S3 is changed by one step, and the auto parameter is set. If not, a new parameter is set and stored.

  Then, in the next image software processing, the image processing that realizes the auto parameter in a pseudo manner and the image processing that realizes the part manual parameter in a pseudo manner for the through image using the image processing software in parallel. Execute (Step S14). Therefore, through the processing in step S14, a through image (moving image) having characteristics when the actual shooting is performed with a pseudo auto parameter and a through image (moving images) having characteristics when the actual shooting is performed with a pseudo part manual parameter. ) And are generated.

  Therefore, in the screen divided into two in the step S13, on the left side is an image-processed through image that realizes the auto parameter in a pseudo manner, that is, an image in the full auto shooting mode according to the shooting scene (although it is pseudo). Hereinafter, a “full auto-through image” is displayed, and on the right side, an image-processed through image that realizes the part manual parameter in a pseudo manner, that is, a partially manually set image (hereinafter “part”). "Manual through image") is displayed (step S15). Therefore, as a result of the processing in step S15, as shown in FIG. 4C, the full auto-through image 268 is displayed on the left side of the display unit 26, and the part manual through image 269 is displayed on the right side.

  Therefore, the photographer can check or learn how the image changes by manual setting by touching the tag by comparing the full auto through image 268 with the part manual through image 269.

  In the part manual through image 269, the tags 265 and 266 are continuously displayed as shown in the figure.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the clear key of the key input unit 30 has been operated (step S16). If the clear key has been operated, the T flag is reset (step S17), and the process returns to step S2. Of course, if the T flag = 0, the process skips step S17 and returns to step S2. If the clear key is not operated, it is determined whether or not the shutter key is operated (step S18). If the shutter key is not operated, the process returns to step S9.

  At this time, as described above, since the tags 265 and 266 are displayed in the part manual through image 269, when the tags 265 and 266 are touched, the determination in step S9 becomes YES. However, since the T flag is set to 1 by the process in step S12, the determination in step S10 is NO and the process proceeds from step S10 to step S14. The characteristics of the part manual through image 269 change each time the user touches the tag by executing the above-described processing of step S14 and step S15. That is, a through image (moving image) in which the auto setting parameters are reflected and a through image (moving image) in which the manual setting parameters are sequentially reflected are displayed.

  When the photographer confirming the part manual through image 269 whose characteristics change in this way operates the shutter key, the process proceeds from step S18 to step S22, and it is determined whether or not T flag = 1. When the T flag = 1, that is, when the user has operated the shutter key after touching the tag even once, the above-described book is obtained using the parameters stored in the RAM in the control unit 22 in step S13 as shooting conditions. An imaging process is executed (step S23). That is, the control unit 22 instructs to switch from the through image shooting mode to the still image shooting mode with the operation of the shutter key as a trigger, and is updated and stored in the RAM of the control unit 22 in step S13 in this still image shooting mode. The image data obtained by the photographing process is temporarily stored in the SDRAM 21 and then recorded in the storage memory 28 (step S19).

  In the photographed image data recorded in the storage memory 28, after the photographing condition is set to full auto, a part thereof is manually set by the photographer's operation. Accordingly, it is possible to reflect the user's intention in the shooting conditions while eliminating the inconvenience that the user is troubled by the setting operation of the shooting conditions.

  As a result of the determination in step S22, if the T flag = 0, that is, if the user operates the shutter key without touching the tag, the RAM in the control unit 22 in step S3. The above-described main photographing process is executed using the auto parameters stored in the above as photographing conditions (step S24).

  In the photographed image data recorded in the storage memory 28, the photographing conditions are set to full auto. Therefore, the user can perform full-auto shooting by operating the shutter key without touching the tag.

  In the present embodiment, the auto parameter is set according to the determined shooting scene. However, the tag corresponding to the determined shooting scene is not set without setting the auto parameter, that is, without performing full auto control. May be displayed, and shooting conditions may be set in response to a touch on the tag. Even in this case, the types of tags to be displayed are limited because they are narrowed down according to the determined shooting scene. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of setting a meaningless shooting condition in the shooting scene, and as a result, it is possible to suppress the inconvenience caused by the shooting condition setting operation.

  In the present embodiment, manual parameters are set by detecting a touch on a tag. However, a cursor is displayed on the display unit 26 together with the tag, and a cursor key operation on the key input unit 30 is performed on a desired tag. After the cursor is moved, the tag may be selected by operating the SET key, and the manual parameter corresponding to the selected tag may be set.

  In the embodiment, each time the tag is touched, the correction value is changed in proportion to the number of operations by changing the value of the parameter step by step from the correction value (± α). The correction value may be changed in proportion to the touch duration (operation duration), or a manual parameter having a predetermined value may be set by one operation on the tag.

  In addition, a captured image is displayed immediately after the actual shooting, scene determination is performed on the displayed captured image, a tag corresponding to the scene determination result is displayed, and manual setting adjustment can be performed by touching the tag. In other words, the image is changed to an image having the characteristics of actual shooting with a certain parameter by software image processing and displayed so that this manual setting can be captured at the next actual shooting. May be. In this case, the photographed image displayed immediately after the main photographing is either an image reflecting only the auto parameter, an image reflecting the auto parameter and the manual parameter, or an image reflecting only the manual parameter.

  Further, in the embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera is described as an example, but not only a digital camera but also a function of recording image data captured via an optical system and an image sensor. The present invention can also be applied to a device such as a mobile phone with a camera or an electronic device having an imaging function.

It is a figure which shows the electronic circuit structure of the digital camera which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a key map showing a photography scene correspondence table. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the embodiment. It is a display transition diagram of the same embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital Camera 12 Lens Optical System 13 CCD
15 Vertical Driver 17 A / D Converter 18 Color Process Circuit 19 DMA Controller 21 DRAM
22 Control unit 24 VRAM
25 Digital video encoder 26 Display unit 27 JPEG circuit 28 Storage memory 29 Database 30 Key input unit 31 Touch panel 221 Shooting scene correspondence table 261 Tag 264 Through image 265 Tag 267 Lead line 268 Full auto through image 269 Part manual through image

Claims (11)

Shooting scene determination means for determining a shooting scene based on a subject image;
Display control means for displaying on the display means a setting menu for manually setting the shooting conditions according to the shooting scene determined by the shooting scene determining means;
Setting means for setting shooting conditions according to manual operation for the setting menu displayed on the display means;
Photographing means for photographing the subject image according to the photographing conditions set by the setting means;
A camera comprising: The setting means includes
2. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising: auto setting means for setting shooting conditions according to the shooting scene determined by the determination means; and manual setting means for setting shooting conditions according to the manual operation. .   3. The camera according to claim 2, wherein the manual setting unit changes and sets the shooting condition corresponding to the setting menu in the shooting condition set by the auto setting unit according to the manual operation.   4. The camera according to claim 3, wherein the manual setting means changes and sets the photographing condition in a stepwise manner according to the manual operation.   The camera according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the display control means causes the display means to display a subject image photographed by the photographing means under the setting conditions set by the auto setting means.   The display control means includes a first subject image photographed by the photographing means according to the photographing conditions set by the manual setting means, and a photographing condition set before the photographing conditions are set by the manual setting means. 6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a second subject image photographed by the photographing means is displayed on the display means. The determination means further includes subject determination means for determining a main subject in the shooting scene,
7. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the setting menu in a display form linked to the main subject determined by the subject determination unit. It further comprises storage means for storing the characteristics of the person,
8. The camera according to claim 7, wherein when the subject in the shooting scene is a person stored in the storage unit, the subject determination unit determines the person as the main subject.   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the setting menu displayed on the display unit includes a menu that describes the characteristics of an image captured under a corresponding imaging condition. A computer having a camera equipped with photographing means;
Shooting scene determination means for determining a shooting scene based on a subject image;
Display control means for displaying on the display means a setting menu for manually setting the shooting conditions according to the shooting scene determined by the shooting scene determining means;
Setting means for setting shooting conditions according to manual operation for the setting menu displayed on the display means;
Shooting control means for controlling the shooting means according to the shooting conditions set by the setting means and shooting the subject image;
A camera control program characterized by being made to function. A shooting scene determination step for determining a shooting scene based on the subject image;
A display control step for causing the display means to display a setting menu for manually setting the shooting conditions according to the shooting scene determined in the shooting scene determination step;
A setting step for setting shooting conditions according to manual operation for the setting menu displayed on the display means;
A shooting step of shooting the subject image according to the shooting conditions set by the setting step;
A photographing method characterized by comprising:

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